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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Old news by now, but many of you have probably heard that the City of Ottawa and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 279 have reached an agreement to avoid strikes by using an arbitration system for new contracts.

The recent labour strife between the two sides resulted in a 53-day strike, and was finally ended when the two sides agreed to--you guessed it--binding arbitration.

Emerging from a closed door session at City Hall, and flanked by union leaders Andre Cornellier and Randy Graham, Deputy Mayor Michel Bellemare said they will now implement an arbitration system to automatically resolve contract disputes and prevent strikes or lockouts.

Last year, the contract agreement with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 expired in March, and fruitless negotiations led to an all-out strike which began December 10th and lasted a record 53 days.

Anon@3:46: This agreement avoids contract negotiations between the two sides, instead electing to send the discussions to a binding arbitrator. So, at least with regards to legal strikes, there will be no more in the City of Ottawa. (Knock on wood.)